Video Marketing in 2017

Many marketers are already looking past the holiday season into next year. Where should they spend their limited budgets? It’s a tricky question because there are more channels and options popping up all the time.

So I’ve taken some time to look through other people’s crystal balls. I’m going to share with you how their predictions could impact your video marketing in the coming year. Sounds mystical and exciting right? Let’s take a look.

Content, Content, Content

Seth Godin, noted marketer and entrepreneur, said way back in 2008 that “Content marketing is the only marketing left”. His remarks proved to be mostly true.

In a blog post about the then upcoming Content Marketing Institute’s Content Marketing World (say that 10 times fast!), founder Joe Pulizzi says,

“One thing is for sure: Content creation and distribution in the enterprise, outside of the content about our products and services, have become both more important and more integrated over the past year.”

While he references the “enterprise”, his comments hold true for every small business, blogger, or service provider – basically, anyone running a business on the Internet. It isn’t enough anymore to simply write about your products, or provide details about your services. You need content to pull people to your website and keep them there. And once there, create a place where they want to do business with you.

Pulizzi’s list of topics in the blog is also his predictions about what is important for 2017. Video marketing is a big part of it.

Video Content

It seems every year is listed as the year of video. I think it’s about time we just accept video is integral to online marketing. There shouldn’t be a need to “prove” it’s necessary anymore. But if you’re still in a position where you need to do that, consider the following points:

Putting “video” in an email subject line increases open rates by 19%

65% more people will click links in that email to visit your website

And bounce rates are reduced by 26% (or people who leave your site once they get there from the email)

58% of people trust companies that feature video clips

These stats come from a compiled prediction list on Business2community.com. You can find similar ones in many places, and even more if you’ve got to make a stronger case for video in your company.

If you’re struggling to make video work for you, perhaps Pulizzi’s comments on video content can help. He says, “But, most brands are still hanging their video strategy on the viral video, instead of building a process and organization around the ongoing delivery of valuable information through video.”

There is some evidence, and some examples, on how you can make a video go viral – or to at least improve your odds. But that can’t be the focus for your video content team 100% of the time. A more measured, planned approach will provide more traffic, more ROI than one or two wildly popular videos.

Looking Forward

After Godin gave the famous quote I started this blog with, he went on to explain what he meant. I’ve found a short summary of that, written by Pulizzi:

“Seth went on to say (I’m paraphrasing) that teaching your customers and giving your customers the resources to believe you is new marketing. They become a fan of yours because you teach them something that makes them feel better about the world.”

Video is probably the most powerful medium available to marketers today. Can you think of a more impactful way to get people “to believe in you”, have them “become a fan”, or do “something that makes them feel better about the world”? I’m not sure I can.